Spiffy:

Iffy:

If Namco's Tales of series marked each new game with a number, it would be giving Final Fantasy a run for its money in a contest for the biggest number at the end of a title. Tales of Phantasia, Tales of Destiny, Tales of Eternia, Tales of Symphonia -- there are almost too many to keep up with; it seems like the series' recent installments have been going in one ear and out the other. If there are any questions as to whether the series is starting to lose its magic, Tales of the Abyss may get gamers to sit down and listen once again.

Of course they'll want to listen. This is an RPG series that's a bit strange, and it's not ashamed to flaunt it. One thing that's sure to please RPG fans that have seen the movie Napoleon Dynamite is that the Liger, which Napoleon describes as "pretty much my favorite animal" plays a small part in the story. Basically, they're big mean critters that need a good killin', but it just serves to illustrate the nerdish coolness this type of game has. As for your characters, they're definitely cut out to exist next to ligers.

The hero is a guy named Luke with long red hair and a midriff-baring shirt (he almost looks a like some weird RPG-kid version of Axl Rose). He's kind of the reluctant hero type who also has amnesia, which seems to be a good combination for getting into trouble. The party includes a beautiful and mysterious girl named Tear, a serious military woman, and a cute little blue thing with adorable long ears that helps you get where you need to go -- and hopefully distracts you from staring at Luke's belly button. Looks like all the bases are covered here, so let's see how the cast performs in battle.

The Tales series has always presented battles that have a bit of an action element, and Tales of the Abyss looks to be pushing in this direction once again with an open field and new ideas after the back-to-basics (some critics might even say lazy and uninspired) battle system in Tales of Legendia. You'll be able to see enemies on the map before fighting them, which could potentially help you avoid fights, should you want to. This is still a traditional console RPG in a lot of ways, but there are a few progressive elements mixed in.